Re-upping just those teams for three more years won't make fans yawn, because the teams will always be good, but there is a danger that this tournament could become a static, been-there-done-that type of event if nothing new is introduced.

Kentucky coach John Calipari (AP Photo)

The Champions Classic began in 2011 with these four teams, and this is the final year of their round-robin play, where each team has gotten the chance to face every other. With the contract up, it's time to firm up plans for 2014 and beyond. Clearly, the event has been a hit for the schools involved, and we're betting none of them would want to give up their spot.

But what we'd like to see is adding teams like Indiana, Louisville, Syracuse, Arizona, North Carolina or UCLA to this mix. Surely any one of those champions would savor a spot in this showcase. Or how about adding three of these teams to the entry blank, and having the prior season's national champion as the automatic fourth entry?

Many of us get better by repetition. Athletes get stronger with every bench press. Journalists, ahem, get faster typing on deadline. But fans can get tired of the same matchups every year, even if programs can return with a completely different team from one year to the next.

If the Champions Classic is to live on, there are more winners to choose from than Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State and Duke.